Joss Whedon has been discussing The Avengers recently and when asked about how to make The Avengers 2 bigger and better he said, "By not trying to. By being smaller. More personal, more painful... By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself."

He also talked about what interests him about the characters saying, "I want to know what makes them tick, what makes them flawed, what makes them fight - and ultimately, what makes them awesome... I go to these movies for those moments when the heroes define themselves, either through action or deliciously overwritten speeches."

And finally, in the video seen just above, he discusses Iron Man's suit in the film. [source / source / [source]

Moviefone's Mike Ryan cold called actual John Carter's in all 50 states to ask if they planned on seeing John Carter this weekend. The responses he got make me jealous I didn't do this myself. [read it here]

Natalie Portman is reportedly in talks to star in Ridley Scott's The Counselor as the fiancee of an attorney (Michael Fassbender) trying to get into the drug trade just a little bit, only to find himself in deep trouble. Javier Bardem and Jeremy Renner are in preliminary talks to play Reiner, the villain, described by The Playlist as follows:

A criminal acquaintance/client of The Counselor, who drags him into the underworld, Reiner had done pretty well out of the drug trade so far, living an opulent life that includes his two pet cheetahs. He's something of a racist, and is wounded by his last girlfriend leaving him for, in his words "a negress," but is deeply in love with Malkina, even while he knows that he can't trust her at all, and suspects that she'll one day be his undoing.

Speaking of Ridley Scott, his upcoming film Prometheus will be digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D format and released in IMAX digital and film theatres in the US, and a select number of IMAX theatres internationally starting June 8.

Elle Fanning (Super 8) is reportedly in negotiations to play Princess Aurora, the young beauty sent into a lengthy slumber in the classic "Sleeping Beauty" tale, in Maleficent opposite Angelina Jolie in the title role. The film will be a deconstruction of the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale told from the perspective of the princess' evil nemesis. [source]

Elton John's Rocket Pictures has set up the 3D animated Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes, a sequel to the 2011 with Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil returning to pen the script. The plan is to begin production in the fall with a story that begins when gnomes start disappearing from the suburban gardens of England, and Gnomeo, Juliet and friends enlist the help of Sherlock Gnomes, "the greatest ornamental detective," to track the culprit. Unfortunately, Sherlock is neither as brilliant nor as insightful as his human counterpart, and as the crimes against gnomanity continue, the threat to their world becomes bigger than they ever imagined. [source]

When asked if there would be a Mission: Impossible 5, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said, "Oh, yes." And that, my friends, is what I call BREAKING NEWS! [source]

Armie Hammer spoke with Access Hollywood about playing the title role in Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp. Here's the video:

Viola Davis (The Help) is set to star as Barbara Jordan in a film based on the biography, "Barbara Jordan: American Hero" by Mary Beth Rogers to be directed by Paris Barclay ("Smash"). Jordan "was the booming voice of the nation's conscience during the Watergate hearings, and an African-American pioneer in politics and other areas." [source]

Sylvester Stallone has been chatting up the possibility of a Rambo 5 after a previous attempt sort of fell apart. This time he tells Macleans.ca, "[John Rambo's] in Arizona on the border" and the film will involve him going into Mexico. Stallone adds, "I don't think Rambo likes Mexicans," and when someone decided to curiously ask if Rambo would be killed off in this film Stallone didn't beat around the bush, answering, "Yeah." [source]

Lionsgate has acquired distribution rights to the Jason Statham thriller Hummingbird, which begins production Monday in London under the direction of Eastern Promises screenwriter Steven Knight. In the film Statham stars as a veteran haunted by a tragic past who assumes the identity of an upper class Londoner. When his girlfriend is found dead, he can no longer hide from his past as he hunts down the perpetrators. [source]

In 2000, Nicolas Cage had his mint condition copy of Action Comics No. 1 stolen. The comic was worth upwards of $1.5 million and featured the first ever appearance of Superman. It was later found in 2011, when it was discovered among the contents of an abandoned storage locker and sold for a record $2.1 million at auction in November. Now, "Reno 911!" creators Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon have scripted a fictional telling of the incident titled, appropriately, Action Comics No. 1. Lionsgate picked up the script which revolves around a group of nerds who attempt to steal Cage's comic. Come to think of it, Nicolas Cage's Comic Book would be a pretty great title also.

Cage is apparently unlikely to play himself in the film (though it was written with him in mind) and Jason Statham's name has surfaced as a possibility. [source]

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